Yesterday the San Antonio Spurs announced that they are retiring former All-World defender Bruce Bowen’s number 12 jersey. Shortly after that, Bowen spoke with Spurs.com about what it means to have his jersey number retired.

Spurs.com: “What’s the significance to you on joining those players and jerseys that hang in rafters?”

Bruce Bowen: “First thing I thought about is exactly what you just said. Those names that are up there, just to be mentioned with those guys and to be side by side with them, I think it speaks of the caliber of people and the character they possess as Spurs players. When you speak about legacies people tell, ‘You should have your number retired.’ I would tell them that it’s not up to me. I didn’t play this game to have my number retired. I’m fortunate to have this opportunity because of Tim, Tony, Manu, those guys and of course Pop and Peter Holt. For Pop to have a vision and give a young man like myself a try, as someone he felt could add something to the club. And to him for giving me the opportunity to feel as special or as important as every other player that we had those great runs with.”

The part of the interview that stuck out the most was Bowen telling a lot of what he’ll remember most about his career is the connections he made with both members of the Spurs organization and the San Antonio community.

When I first heard about Bowen’s jersey being retired I wasn’t totally behind it, but then I first looked at how many All-Defense teams he made but more importantly every thing he did in the San Antonio community. Hat’s off to you, Bruce. Spurs fans can see Bowen get his jersey retired Wednesday, March 21 against Minnesota.